Game instructions
How to play
- 2–4 players
- ranked
Goal and deal
Two, three or four players compete individually with 24 cards, nine through ace. With two players, each receives 11 cards and the kitty contains two; with three, each receives seven and the kitty three. With four, one player sits out each deal and that role rotates. The target is 500 or 1000 points.
Auction and kitty
The opening bid is 100. Raise in multiples of 10 or pass, up to 400. The auction winner takes the kitty, then gives one chosen card to each active opponent. They promise to collect at least their bid and lead first.
Tricks and values
Each player plays one card. Follow suit and beat the highest card of that suit if possible, unless the trick has already been trumped. If void, trump when possible and overtrump if you can. The highest trump wins, or the highest card of the led suit without trump. Cards rank A, 10, K, Q, J, 9 and score 11, 10, 4, 3, 2, 0 respectively when captured.
Marriages
Holding king and queen in one suit allows a marriage announcement when leading either card. It scores 40 in spades, 60 in clubs, 80 in diamonds and 100 in hearts. The most recently announced marriage's suit becomes trump. Merely holding the pair without announcing it scores nothing.
Bombs
If enabled, the auction winner can cancel the deal after taking the kitty but before passing cards. Their first bomb awards no points to opponents. Later bombs award every other player 60 with two or three seats, or 40 with four. A bomb does not concede the entire match.
Match scoring
The bidder scores exactly the bid when their card and marriage points meet it, or loses that amount when they fail. Other players score their collected points rounded to the nearest ten. When a player reaches the target, the match ends and the highest total wins.
Claiming the rest
On their turn the declarer may claim the rest once per deal if at least two tricks remain. The opponents then see the declarer's cards and have 20 seconds. If both agree, the declarer scores the points of all remaining cards; a refusal or no answer means play continues.
You know the rules — time for a game.
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